Prev | Next

Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Tasmania Together

Related Issue Reports

Objective

To enhance biodiversity conservation through identifying gaps in the reserve system, and to resolve them by priority and through improvements in land management on public and private land.

Recommendation

It is recommended that:

• the adequacy of the reserve system is evaluated with respect to capacity to protect more fully representative biodiversity values for non-forest vegetation communities, riparian vegetation, off-shore islands, and wetlands;
   
• a systematic and coordinated approach is implemented to assess marine and estuarine priorities for reservation at bioregional and Statewide scales (to be applied in developing a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of marine and estuarine reserves);
   
• Tasmania's off-shore islands are managed to provide a refuge from the European fox for small mammal and ground-dwelling bird populations and, like in New Zealand, to serve as sites for threatened species translocation, or as holding areas;
   
• present initiatives to provide for nature conservation on private land are recognised and enhanced through a range of realistic incentives, financial packages, and the continuation of programs such as 'Land for Wildlife' (State Biodiversity Committee 2002);
   
• the scope and duration of the RFA Private Forest Reserve Program and the Protected Areas on Private Land are extended as key conservation tools for private land (State Biodiversity Committee 2002); and
   
• CSIRO regional climate models for Tasmania should be applied in planning for the preparation of species/habitat reservation and conservation management plans for Tasmania (see also 1997 recommendation).
   

Key issues

Some of the points from the 'At a glance' section for the Reservation Issue Report include the following:

• In compliance with the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity (Environment Australia 1996), Tasmania is committed to establishing a reserve system over land, freshwater and marine systems, which is comprehensive, adequate and representative (CAR) of the natural elements it protects. There are 589 formal reserves covering about 2,606,260 ha of the land area (38%) of the State and about 83,000 ha of the marine environment (3.5%). Other reserves, including the Private Forest Reserve program covenanted areas, are not included but they are still part of the recognised reserve system. Together with the Australian Alps and Cape York Peninsula, South-West Tasmania is recognised as a region having among the highest levels of reservation nationally (Australian State of Environment Committee 2001).
   
• Although 38% of the land area and 3.5% of the marine environment of Tasmania are under reserves (only 0.06% or 1,416 ha in the immediate marine area around the State), the various habitat types are very unevenly represented, and many species and plant communities are not found in current reserves. For example, it is estimated that only 0.05% of Tasmania's marine species occur in reserves.
   
• While the State has about 40% of its land area in reserves, the distribution is concentrated in a few bioregions: the West and Central Highlands have 83% and 56% respectively within formal reserves. The Southern Ranges also has high levels of formal reservation with 44% of its area reserved. However, six of the nine terrestrial bioregions in Tasmania have more than 80% of their area outside any type of reserve. The situation is particularly critical in the Northern Midlands where 97.4% of the region is outside any type of public or private reserve.
   
• Of the nine marine bioregions in Tasmania, only three contain marine reserves. There were no fully protected estuaries out of the 111 present in Tasmania. Only parts of one estuary, the D'Entrecasteaux, have been protected, including the areas at Tinderbox (52 ha) and Ninepin Point (63 ha).
   
• Rivers, wetlands and riparian vegetation generally have a poor reservation status in Tasmania. For example, only five out of ten Ramsar sites (i.e. internationally significant wetlands) are wholly protected and one partly protected within secure reserves. However, views also differ as to the importance of reservation; secure reserves may not be necessary provided appropriate management is in place to maintain their values.
   

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Actions proposed to improve conservation and reservation outcomes in Tasmania are provided in detail in the Nature Conservation Strategy (State Biodiversity Committee 2002). The Nature Conservation Strategy and the State Government's response to the Strategy are available for downloading (download strategy; download response). The following is a summary of achievements in reservation and conservation. Action has occurred in many areas to assess and improve the adequacy of the reserve system. A number of these initiatives are documented in the management responses section of the Reservation Issue Report. The State Government's formal response to Tasmania's Nature Conservation Strategy provides further detail.

• The CAR reserve system under the Regional Forest Agreement (RPDC 2002) has resulted in 458,000 ha of new reserves containing 293,000 ha of forest.
   
• The Private Forests Reserve Program and the Protected Areas on Private Land Program are responding to the need to protect the many species and communities that do not occur on public reserved land. DPIWE established a Private Forest Reserves Unit in July 1998 to promote the system of CAR forest reserves on private land in Tasmania. To 30 June 2003, some 122 properties covering 23,396 ha of targeted native forest had been purchased or covenanted for perpetual conservation.
   
• The completion of the pre-1750 vegetation map of Tasmania will greatly enhance capacity to assess and improve the adequacy of the reserve system, although much work needs to be done, particularly in relation to non-forest vegetation communities. The work of Edgar and others (Edgar et al. 1999) in assessing the naturalness and conservation significance of estuaries around Tasmania has been a significant contribution.
   
• In 1998, the Australian Government, and states and territories endorsed the Guidelines for Establishing the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas - ANZECC Task Force on Marine Protected Areas 1998. On 14 August 2001 the Minister for Primary Industries, Water and Environment, issued a reference to the Resource Planning and Development Commission to conduct an inquiry and recommend to the Minister on the establishment of a marine protected area within the Davey and Twofold Shelf marine bioregions.
   

Tasmania Together

Relevant Tasmania Together goals and standards for 'Biodiversity' are listed in the linked file. The Tasmania Together Progress Board reported on progress toward targets for benchmarks set (Tasmania Together Progress Board 2003). Indicators, targets and baseline data are available in the latest Progress Report June 2003. Further information, including progress report updates, is available from Tasmania Together.

Related Issue Reports